Cup Lid Having a Bung-Like Stopper

ABSTRACT

A combination of a disposable cup lid having a drink-through opening, and a stopper for the drink-through opening. The opening is formed through a planar top portion of the cup lid, and has predetermined dimensions of width and length. The stopper has a planar base portion and a bung portion depending substantially downwardly therefrom so that, when in position, the bung portion extends downwardly through said drink-through opening to seal the opening. The cup lid additionally comprises a well which is dimensioned so as to receive at least a portion of the bung portion of the stopper and to retain the bung portion by interference fit when in place in the well. A storage area for the stopper is thereby provided.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority pursuant to 35 USC 119(3) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/699394, filed on Jul. 15, 2005, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to cup lids, and particularly relates to cup lids which comprise two independent parts, the cup lid per se and a stopper which fits through a drink-through opening in the cup lid so as to provide a bung or stopper, and thereby so as to provide a liquid seal for the cup lid when it is in place on a drink cup.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Beverages have been dispensed for many years in disposable cups, and typically each disposable cup is provided with a disposable lid. Very often, after the beverage has been obtained from the vendor or dispenser, and has been covered with the lid, it is carried by the consumer to another place where the beverage will be consumed. At that time, the consumer may choose to remove and dispose of the lid, or retain it for future replacement over the cup, or portion of the lid may be folded back from the rim of the cup to provide an opening through which the beverage may be consumed. Other lids are provided, however, particularly of the dome lid variety which are particularly used to cover hot beverages such as coffee or cappuccino, and which extend above the rim of the cup. Often, those dome lids have a drink-through opening which is punched into a planar portion of the cup lid above the plane of the rim of the cup. Consequently, the drink-through opening is permanently open.

In many circumstances, such as in sports stadia and the like, where there are likely to be crowds in the area where beverages are being dispensed, and where very often a consumer will obtain more than one beverage at a time for himself and/or his companions, and where there is risk of spillage of the beverage should the cup lid be removed from the cup, it is desirable for there to be a drink-through opening in the cup lid which can be resealed at times when the beverage is not being consumed. This has several advantages, including reducing the risk of spillage as a consequence of being jostled or the like, and in the case where the beverage is a hot beverage, cooling of the beverage is retarded if the cup lid has been resealed.

For that purpose, the present invention provides a cup lid which can be unsealed so as to provide free access to the drink-through opening, but which can be resealed so as to provide a liquid seal to preclude spillage and to retard cooling of the beverage in the event that it is a hot beverage. Further, it would be advantageous to provide a cup lid adapted to receive a removable resealing device, and which provides a storage mechanism for storage of the removable resealing device when the device was not sealing the opening.

The prior art which is known to the Applicant herein, which has to do with cup lids having drink-through openings and sealing or cover arrangements therefore, but which is not believed otherwise to be relevant to the present invention, is as follows: U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,052; U.S. Pat. No. 6,644,490; United States Design Patent D478006; U.S. Design Pat. D480968; Published U.S. Patent Application 2002/0170912; Published U.S. Patent Application 2003/0024929 (and its Continuation 2003/0197012 and its Division 2004/0035868); Published U.S. Patent Application 2003/0024930; Published U.S. Patent Application 2003/0089713; Published U.S. Patent Application 2003/0089714; Published U.S. Patent Application 2006/0027588, Published U.S. Patent Application 2004/0094549, and Published U.S. Patent Application 2006/0096983.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is a principal objective of the present invention to provide a simple, cost effective method to temporarily close the drink-through opening of a cup lid. It is a further advantage of the present invention to provide an optional device for closing the drink-through opening that can be stored on the cup lid, when not in use.

The advantages set out hereinabove, as well as other objects and goals inherent thereto, are at least partially or fully provided by the cup lid and stopper combination of the present invention, as set out herein below.

Accordingly, in one aspect, the present invention provides, in combination, a cup lid having a drink-through opening, and a stopper for the drink-through opening;

-   -   wherein the drink-through opening is formed through a planar top         portion of the cup lid, and has predetermined dimensions of         width and length;     -   wherein said stopper comprises a substantially planar base         portion and a bung portion depending therefrom so that, when in         position, said the bung portion extends downwardly through said         drink-through opening;     -   wherein said bung portion preferably has upwardly sloping side         and end surfaces and a closed bottom surface, and is dimensioned         in its width and length so as to provide a liquid seal between         said side and end surfaces and the edges of said drink-through         opening when in place therein; and     -   wherein a preferably closed well is provided in a planar portion         of said cup lid and is dimensioned so as to receive at least a         portion of said bung portion of said stopper and to retain said         bung portion of said stopper by interference fit when in place         therein.

In a further aspect, the present invention provides a cup lid having a drink-through opening and a well, adapted to receive a stopper, as described hereinabove.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the present application, the term “bung” refers to the portion of the stopper that is utilized to actually close and essentially seal the opening in the cup lid.

A particular feature of the present invention is that the seal or stopper for the drink-through opening in the cup lid is completely independent of the cup lid and may be completely removed from it. Indeed, it is possible that the beverage vendor may provide to his customer the option of deciding whether or not the customer will choose to seal his beverage. For example, if the customer is only going to walk a few steps from the counter to a table, there may be no need to seal the drink-through opening. On the other hand, if the customer is going to return to his seat in a sports stadium, and particularly if the customer has purchased more than one beverage, there may be every reason for wanting to seal the drink-through opening.

For that reason, the stopper will function substantially as a bung, being such that it will extend through an opening—in this case, the drink-through opening—so as to provide a liquid seal therefor. That being the case, however, the present invention preferably also provides for a well which is formed in the cup lid so as to receive the stopper, or at least the bung portion thereof, so that the stopper may be conveniently stored for future use in resealing the cup lid. The well can be open, or partially opened, but is preferably closed to the liquid, in that the liquid material in the cup cannot pass into or through the well.

On the other hand, it follows that the stopper which is provided by the present invention may also be used with any cup lid whose drink-through opening will accommodate and receive the bung portion of the stopper. It may also be noted that the size of the drink-through opening in dome lids, in particular, is substantially if not identically the same throughout the industry.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of this invention will now be described by way of example only in association with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a typical dome cup lid having a stopper placed in a receiving well therefor;

FIG. 2 is a section taken along the lines 2-2 in FIG. 1, but with a stopper in place in the drink-through opening;

FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 1, except showing a different configuration of stopper;

FIG. 4 is a section taken along the lines 4-4 in FIG. 3, but with a stopper in place in the drink-through opening;

FIG. 5 shows a section taken along lines 5-5 in FIG. 3 including a stopper in place in a well;

FIG. 6 shows a different configuration of dome lid having a stopper placed in receiving well therefor; and

FIG. 7 is a top view of the lid of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the present invention, as to its structure, organization, use and method of operation, together with further objectives and advantages thereof, will be better understood from the following drawings in which a presently preferred embodiment of the invention will now be illustrated by way of example only. In the drawings, like reference numerals depict like elements.

It is expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a typical dome cup lid 12 and a stopper 14. In this case, stopper 14 as a base portion 26 and a bung portion 28 which is inserted into a well 18 in a top planar portion 24 of lid 12. It is evident from inspection of FIG. 1 that the bung portion 28 of the stopper 14 is also intended to fit into the drink-through opening 16 to provide a liquid seal therefor when in place therein.

Cup lid 12, and stopper 14 are manufactured from any suitable material, but are preferably made from the same material. Both cup lid 12 and stopper 14 are intended to be disposable and, therefore, are each preferably constructed of a single sheet of plastic material suitable for forming such lids. Typically, the cup lid, in particular, will be thermoformed from an extruded plastic sheet material. Also, since the cup lid and stopper of the present invention are intended to seal cups with hot beverages, the stopper and cup lid material must be capable of withstanding the typical serving temperatures of hot beverages such as coffee, tea, cappuccino, hot chocolate and the like. However, the present lid can also be used for cold beverages and, therefore, can be formed of the types of plastic generally used for cold beverage lids.

Cup lid 12 and/or stopper 14 can also be manufactured from, or covered with, temperature indicating materials or coatings. These thermochromatic materials can provide indications of an elevated temperature of the liquid materials in the drinking cup.

Cup lid 12 is, of course, intended to be placed over the open upper end of a drinking cup (not shown). Typically, such a drinking cup may be made from plastic or other coated paper, polystyrene, styrene, or otherwise. The drinking cup will have a substantially circular cup rim which lies substantially in a single plane.

As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, cup lid 12 includes a planar portion 24 surrounding a central depression 25 which will accommodate the nose of the person consuming the beverage; and the planar portion 24 is subtended by walls 22 and 23.

Well 18 can be located at any convenient location on lid 12, but in this embodiment, is located on planar portion 24, and is essentially opposite to opening 16.

Stopper 14 comprises a substantially planar base portion 26 from which the bung portion 28 depends downwardly therefrom. FIG. 2 shows a somewhat elaborate bung portion 28, which has been inserted into opening 16. It will be seen or understood that the drink-through opening 16 has predetermined dimensions of width and length, and that the bung portion 28 also has predetermined dimensions of width and length which are such that when the bung portion 28 is in place in the drink-through opening 16, a liquid seal between the side and end surfaces of the bung portion 28 and the edges of the drink-through opening 16 is provided.

Preferably, well 18 also has at least the same predetermined dimensions of width and length as does opening 16.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a stopper 14 having its substantially planar base portion 26 formed only at one end thereof. In contrast, FIG. 3 shows a stopper 34 where the substantially base portion 36 is formed substantially completely around a less elaborate bung portion 38. Base portions 26 or 36 can have any suitable shape but preferably are shaped so as to be easy to grasp and/or held by the user when being inserted into either opening 16 or well 18.

In FIG. 4, which is a cross section view of opening 16 along the line 4-4 in FIG. 3, and including a bung portion 38, it can be seen that bung portion 38 has generally upwardly sloping side surfaces. The end surface will be similar. In contrast, in FIG. 2, bung portion 28 has been provided with a ridge which will be accommodated by an undercut formed in the opening 16. However, as can be seen in FIG. 4, it is necessary only that the opening 16 shall be dimensioned so as to receive at least a portion of the bung portion 38 by interference fit when the bung portion 38 is in place therein.

In FIG. 5, the stopper 36 is shown inserted into well 18, shown along line 5-5 of FIG. 3. Stopper 36 has side walls 17 and a bottom wall 19 which seal well 18.

FIGS. 6 and 7 shows a different embodiment of dome lid 12A where the planar portion 24 is only wide enough to accommodate the drink-through opening 16 on one side of lid 12A. Here, stopper 14, and well 18A, are located in central depression 25. Central depression 25 generally forms a second planar surface.

Commonly, dome lids are dimensioned so as to permit stacking of filled cups of beverage with the bottom of a cup being received within wall 23 of the cup lid. As such, well 18A can be centrally located in the middle of central depression 25, or can be located closer to wall 23. Preferably, stopper 14, when in place in well 18A, does not touch wall 23 so as not to interfere with stacking of the filled cups.

It will be understood that no matter what the precise configuration of stopper 14 or 34 may be, its bung portion 28 or 38 is dimensioned so as to be received in and to provide a liquid seal for the drink-through opening 16, and also so as to be received in a well 18. By its configuration having sloped side and end walls and a sealed bottom portion 30, the stopper 14 or 34 precludes spillage through the drink-through opening 16 when in place.

As noted, the stopper may be provided independently of the cup lid, but will cooperate therewith to provide a liquid seal for the cup when needed. In any event, it will be noted that the planar base portion of the stopper in any configuration thereof is such that it may be easily picked up between the thumb and forefinger of the hand so as to be moved to and from a sealing relationship with the drink-through opening of the cup lid.

Thus, it is apparent that there has been provided, in accordance with the present invention, a cup lid and stopper combination which fully satisfies the goals, objects, and advantages set forth hereinbefore. Therefore, having described specific embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that alternatives, modifications and variations thereof may be suggested to those skilled in the art, and that it is intended that the present specification embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Additionally, for clarity and unless otherwise stated, the word “comprise” and variations of the word such as “comprising” and “comprises”, when used in the description and claims of the present specification, is not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps.

Moreover, the words “substantially” or “essentially”, when used with an adjective or adverb is intended to enhance the scope of the particular characteristic; e.g., substantially planar is intended to mean planar, nearly planar and/or exhibiting characteristics associated with a planar element.

Further, use of the terms “he”, “him”, or “his”, is not intended to be specifically directed to persons of the masculine gender, and could easily be read as “she”, “her”, or “hers”, respectively.

Also, while this discussion has addressed prior art known to the inventor, it is not an admission that all art discussed is citable against the present application. 

1. In combination, a cup lid having a drink-through opening, and a stopper for the drink-through opening; wherein the drink-through opening is formed through a planar top portion of the cup lid, and has predetermined dimensions of width and length; wherein said stopper comprises a substantially planar base portion and a bung portion depending therefrom so that, when in position, said the bung portion extends downwardly through said drink-through opening; wherein said bung portion has side and end surfaces and a closed bottom surface, and is dimensioned in its width and length so as to provide a liquid seal between said side and end surfaces and the edges of said drink-through opening when in place therein; and wherein a well is provided in a planar portion of said cup lid and is dimensioned so as to receive at least a portion of said bung portion of said stopper and to retain said bung portion of said stopper by interference fit when in place therein.
 2. A cup lid and stopper combination, as claimed in claim 1 wherein said stopper is completely independent of the cup lid and may be completely removed from it.
 3. A cup lid and stopper combination, as claimed in claim 1 wherein said well is closed to liquid.
 4. A cup lid and stopper combination, as claimed in claim 1 wherein said well is located on said planar top portion and is essentially opposite to said opening.
 5. A cup lid and stopper combination, as claimed in claim 1 wherein said opening has predetermined dimensions of width and length, and said bung portion also has predetermined dimensions of width and length which are such that when said bung portion is in place in said opening, a liquid seal between side and end surfaces of said bung portion and edges of said opening is provided.
 6. A cup lid and stopper combination, as claimed in claim 5 wherein said well has predetermined dimensions of width and length which are essentially equal to the width and length of said opening.
 7. A cup lid and stopper combination, as claimed in claim 1 wherein said bung portion has upwardly sloping side and end surfaces.
 8. A cup lid and stopper combination, as claimed in claim 1 wherein said cup lid has a central depression forming a second planar portion, below said planar top portion, and said well is located in said central depression.
 9. A cup lid and stopper combination as claimed in claim 8, wherein said well is centrally located in said cup lid.
 10. A cup lid and stopper combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein said cup lid and/or said stopper are made by thermoforming an extruding plastic sheet material.
 11. A cup lid and stopper combination as claimed in claim 10 wherein said cup lid and/or said stopper are manufactured from, or covered with, temperature indicating materials or coatings.
 12. A cup lid and stopper combination as claimed in claim 11 wherein said temperature indicating material or coating comprises a thermochromatic material.
 13. A cup lid having a drink-through opening formed through a planar top portion of the cup lid, and has predetermined dimensions of width and length, wherein said drink-through opening is adapted to receive a stopper having a substantially planar base portion and a bung portion depending therefrom so that, when in position, said the bung portion extends downwardly through said drink-through opening; and wherein a closed well is provided in a planar portion of said cup lid and is dimensioned so as to receive at least a portion of said bung portion of said stopper and to retain said bung portion of said stopper by interference fit when in place therein. 